New Release Books by Robyn Ewing

This textbook highlights the unique role that quality Arts processes and experiences can and should play across the curriculum to ensure that all learners’ creativities and imaginations flourish. It provides much-needed strategies, units of work and practical resources in six arts disciplines – visual arts, literature, drama, music, dance and media arts. It is a must-read for those keen to develop research-informed, integrated, arts-rich learning and teaching strategies while also exploring each discipline. Alongside the ‘four Cs’ (critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity) the authors propose four additional ‘Cs’: curiosity, compassion, connection and courage as much-needed 21st century capabilities. The book speaks to the current debates on STEAM vs. STEM education, and provides an important framework for preservice and experienced classroom teachers, including arts specialists.

"We have not sought in this book, to define ‘best practice’ for you, but have rather, challenged you to think about ways in which to teach intelligently, insightfully and respectfully." - How does a teacher deal with a student’s challenging behaviour in the classroom? - Is it fair to adopt information and communication technologies that favour students who have access to sophisticated devices such as tablets in their own home? - How, during the professional experience, is an education student to act when his or her beliefs about learning are not congruent with those of the supervising teacher? - Should students be grouped in terms of their ability? These and many more issues arise daily in our early childhood, primary and secondary learning environments. Teaching, 6e takes a holistic approach to classroom teaching and learning. It considers the complexities and opportunities embedded in meeting learners’ needs in diverse and ever-changing contexts. It encourages pre-service teachers to become active learners of teaching, how to think like teachers and to consider the fundamental aspects of teaching. It directs pre-service teachers to useful teaching resources, in text, in references and online. Case studies and reflection opportunities encourage pre-service teachers to consider their own strengths and issues, the diversity of learning styles in their students, their school and wider community as well as government and ethical requirements. It raises student awareness of what it really means to teach and how they can do it. Students will continue to refer to this well-researched and easy-to-use text throughout their qualification, in their professional placement and into their teaching career.

This book provides pre-service and practising teachers with an integrated approach to language and literacy learning in early childhood. Written by leading academics in the field, it explores how children learn to talk, play using language, become literate and make meaning - from birth through to the pre-school years. Emphasising the importance of imagination and the arts in language learning, this book addresses a wide range of contemporary issues, highlights the impact of diverse socioeconomic, language and cultural backgrounds on young children's language and literacy development, and shows how early childhood teachers can effectively partner with parents and caregivers to help children learn through and about language. Case studies, interviews, reflective questions, clear links to the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum, and a rich array of practical and creative activities for use in early childhood environments help students connect theory and current research to practice.

Teaching is becoming increasingly complex in the 21st Century, creating a need for more sophisticated frameworks to support teachers’ professional learning. Action learning is one such framework and has been used for workplace learning in business settings for many years. It is now becoming increasingly popular in school and university settings, but it is often misunderstood. This book clarifies what action learning is, linking key concepts to illustrate that it is not merely a process, but a dynamic interaction between professional learning, communities, leadership and change. The book brings together more than a decade of the authors’ research in school-based action learning. Rich and diverse, the research draws on more than 100 case studies of action learning by teams of teachers in schools. The authors: provide practical advice on how to initiate and sustain action learning; explain the interaction between action learning, teacher development, professional learning, community building, leadership and change; and illustrate how action learning can link to classroom practice so closely that it becomes part of what teachers do, rather than an added impost. Addressing the highs and lows, the successes and failures, and their underlying causes, Action Learning in Schools provides insights into theories of cooperation, innovation, leadership and community formation to inform individual projects and large-scale school improvement initiatives. It will be of interest to teacher educators, pre-service and experienced teachers alike, as well as school and education system managers and policymakers keen to enhance teacher professional learning and educational outcomes for students.

Poetry. "Marvelously inventive and refreshingly tongue-in-cheek, Robyn Ewing takes a frank look at the world in these sharp, funny pieces, but with a mind so acrobatic that she makes it look brand new and not quite so impossible. Even when tackling life's more awkward details, such as poverty and war, there's a wry brilliance to her eye and ear. Ewing covers it all, from ornithology to physics to funerals, but it's the sheer dazzle, zip, and bite of each line that makes this one of the best books you'll read this year"--Cole Swensen.

The book covers issues about curricula and assessment and shows how to develop and plan lessons within a structured curriculum.

There are a number of different approaches to the study of curriculum, assessment and evaluation. In Curriculum and Assessment all of these approaches are investigated through their interrelationships or common 'storylines'. Using this method, the book explains what curriculum means toteachers and students, as part of how and why learning happens, and in relation to the policies and assessment practices that arise from it. In view of the current reforms to curricula, and plans for the Australian National Curriculum, this is a timely text which provides students with theopportunity to reflect upon their teaching skills in the context of the broader implications of curriculum for educators and policymakers alike.

Winner of the 2002 Colorado Prize for Poetry Published by the Center for Literary Publishing at Colorado State University

School Drama is a professional learning program for primary school teachers, which focuses on the power of using drama and literature to improve English and literacy in young learners. School Drama was developed by the Sydney Theatre Company (STC) in 2009, in partnership with The University of Sydney. It has been acclaimed by Australian and international critics, and is now a cornerstone of the STCs Education program. This book is a comprehensive School Drama resource. It includes: A summary of how drama and literature enhance literacy; An explanation of the School Drama approach and methodology; Learning outcomes from the School Drama program so far; Exploration of the art and pedagogy of drama (via elements, devices, and roles) 22 classroom dramas: each comprised of a series of workshops that progress through common themes and texts. The School Drama Book is essential reading for teachers and theatre practitioners who want to educate confidently with drama, either through the STCs School Drama program or on their own. It uses drama as a critical pedagogy, and encourages learning through activities, rather than teaching about the texts. This approach has been shown to develop rich imaginations and creative capacities for the future. Includes a foreword by Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton.

Over the last decade, Australia has been implementing a nationalcurriculum, moving away from state-based control and marking a dramaticshift in the Australian education system. This raises a number of questions:Why and how did this happen? What were the debates, disputes andprocesses that led to the current version of the Australian Curriculum?To what extent does it meet the future needs of our society? Is it a nationalcurriculum, or do states and territories still retain control? What might orshould happen from here?In this book, many of Australia¿s leading curriculum scholars explore thesequestions. The book will assist in understanding and analysing the debatesand tensions around the Australian Curriculum, how these played out,and how the outcomes of these debates are represented.

In this short monograph, Robyn Ewing offers us a comprehensive perspectiveon how learning through embodiment results in greater understanding. Asshe points out through her extensive research that spans the last thirtyyears, we learn best when we are given the opportunities, time and meansto process our experiences through a drama-rich pedagogy.